Motorcycle maker to use local raw materials

Dar es Salaam. Kishen Import and Export Limited plans to start buying local raw materials for producing motorcycles in a bid to boost its presence in Tanzania and the region, the firm announced yesterday.

The firm’s managing director Rajen Solanki, said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that since its establishment in 2012, the factory has increased its production through using 40 per cent of its raw materials from Tanzania, noting, however, that the goal is to reach 100 per cent.

The industry – which manufactures Toyo motorcycles from within the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) - has the capacity to produce 300 motorcycles per month with a total investment of $3 million (about Sh4.8 billion).

“The move is done in three phases: the first was buying raw materials from abroad and assembling them locally,” he said at a function to open the factory in Dar es Salaam, which was graced by the minister for Industry and Trade, Dr Abdallah Kigoda.

Mr Solanki said the second phase involves buying at least 40 per cent of raw materials locally; and the last one will include buying all raw materials from Tanzania.

He appreciated the government’s efforts to create a good environment for doing business, urging the public to buy Tanzanian products as a way of empowering investors and developing the country at large.

Earlier, Dr Kigoda said the government was committed to creating an enabling environment for businesses to grow. “The development of our economy depends on industries. Development of industries is useful for our country to facilitate transfer of technology from developed nations,” he said.